Kitchen Aquaponics: Initial Setup (1/2)

After happening to read the blog post below while perusing epicurious.com, I became intrigued by aquaponics. I looked around at various kits and setups for building an aquaponic system, but finally j

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• aquaponics
• gardening
• apartment
• fish
• garden
• herbs
• indoor

[gamercubed]

@qin02. Not float, although it was too full of water. Check out my later updates, I converted it into a flood and drain system that's been pretty successful.

[kgmetcalfe]

next time - rinse your Hydroton off prior to going live. will save you a lot of time and effort in the long term. will also be easier on your water pump.

[gamercubed]

@kgmetcalfe Oh, I rinsed the heck out of it before starting, yet it still clouded the water for a while. It's been running clear for nearly two years now.

[MrMadmax478]

Pretty system you have there.... You need more Hydroton... need at least 1" dry zone and blackout the sides or play hell with the algae growth. Also I'd add air stone to fish tank. With that type of system there is no such thing as to much air providing your not blow the fishes out of the water..... Once you get your lighting issues fixed the algae will come with out those to fixes.

[gamercubed]

@MrMadmax478 Thanks for the input. I should post another update as I've already done most of those things and it's been running pretty smoothly for the past year. I added black tape to the sides which has kept algae at bay, added a brighter light, and recently switched to an ebb and flow schedule for the pump which lets the top couple of inches dry out for a few hours between soakings. Still going strong after over a year!

[AquaponicsNewYork]

Algae does not convert ammonia to nitrates, certain bacteria do that. Algae will feed on the nitrates that are in the water and take nutrition away from your plants. With fluorescent grow lights you want to have them about 3 inches from the tops of your plants and use either t5 or compact fluorescent in the highest wattage you can get, you also want to make sure the lights are either 6500k for green plant growth and 2700k for fruiting and flowering.

[gamercubed]

That makes sense. I'll try to find some sort of black material I can wrap around the grow bed in to reduce the algae growth.

The lamp I've ordered has 3 T5 bulbs and is height adjustable so I should be able to put it just above the plants as you suggest, and move it up as they grow. I'll probably keep the existing bulb there too to add warm light since the fluorescents will likely be a lot cooler.

Nice videos, btw. They gave me ideas for a few more tweaks to my design.

[thawdani]

so its like a little pond ordeal?

[qin02]

isnt this a float set up but with a load of clay balls in there?

[DaBigKoasta]

I thought I'd heard about everything and this is the strangest! I just manufactured a unit for AEROponics and saw your video. How fu#@ing cool!

[wtf0804]

How much hydroton did you use?

[spraycanart]

@AquaponicsNewYork Algae will take out a lot of the toxins from tap water. It will also remove a lot of the heavy metals. This is a very small trade off that the algae consume and well worth the extra nutrients consumed. Also most fish will munch on the algae a good sauce of vitamin C. and Iron.

[Tuxedo748]

how did you drill a hole in the plastic container? Wouldn't it break it?